Mould resistant sandwich panel

ABSTRACT

A mould resistant sandwich panel includes a plurality of frame members having opposed faces and opposed sides. Mineral board sheets secured to the opposed sides of the frame members, thereby creating a plurality of interior compartments. Either mineral foam, concrete foam or concrete is used to fill each of the interior compartments.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a sandwich panel that is resistant to mould.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

After the flooding of New Orleans, many building that were structurally sound had to be destroyed due to mould infestation. Many materials commonly used in building construction, such as drywall paper, insulation paper, and wood, serve as nutrients for mould.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There is therefore provided a mould resistant sandwich panel. The mould resistant sandwich panel includes a plurality of frame members having opposed faces and opposed sides. Mineral board sheets are secured to the opposed sides of the frame members, thereby creating a plurality of interior compartments. One of mineral foam, concrete foam or concrete is used to fill each of the interior compartments.

Other aspects will be apparent from the claims, which are incorporated by reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side plan view, in section of a mould resistant sandwich panel.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a mould resistant sandwich panel

FIG. 3 is a front plan view of a frame member.

FIG. 4 is a front plan view of an alternative frame member.

FIG. 5 is a front plan view of another alternative frame member.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of elongate components installed in the frame members.

FIG. 7 is a detailed, exploded perspective view of a reinforcing mesh installed in the mould resistant sandwich panel.

FIG. 8 is a side plan view, in section of a mould resistant sandwich panel with a window installed.

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a corner of a mould resistant sandwich panel.

FIG. 10 is a detailed side plan view of a mould resistant sandwich panel attached to a ceiling.

FIG. 11 is a detailed side plan view of a mould resistant sandwich panel attached to a floor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The preferred embodiment, a mould resistant sandwich panel generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to FIG. 1 through 11.

Structure and Relationship of Parts:

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, mould resistant sandwich panel 10 includes a plurality of frame members 12 having opposed faces 14 and opposed sides 16. Mineral board sheets 18 are secured to opposed sides 16 of frame members 12, (either vertically as shown or horizontally) by fasteners 19 (as seen in FIG. 2), thereby creating a plurality of interior compartments 20. Mineral board sheets 18 may be composed of, for example, calcium silicate, magnesium, cement, or other such materials. Referring to These compartments 20 are then filled with mineral foam 22. While mineral foam is used as the embodiment in this document, this could easily be other suitable substances, such as concrete foam or concrete. Referring to FIG. 3, two types of apertures: flow apertures 24 and aligned apertures 26 extend through frame members 12 between opposed faces 14. Flow apertures 24 must be of a sufficient size to permit mineral foam 22 to flow between compartments 20 when filling compartments 20, such that it is not necessary to fill each compartment 20 individually. The size of flow apertures 24 may vary depending on the material, for example, they may have to be larger if cement is used instead of mineral foam 22. Referring to FIG. 4, frame members 12 may not have any apertures, or referring to FIG. 5, frame members 12 may only have aligned apertures 26. Referring to FIG. 6, a combination of different frame members 12 may be used, where frame members 12 without flow apertures 24 are used for the ends of panel 10. Depending upon the viscosity of mineral foam 22, it may still be necessary to “top up” compartments 20 to completely fill them. Referring to FIG. 6, aligned apertures 26, which may be knockout apertures, are used to allow one or more elongate components 28, such as electrical conduit, plumbing pipe, or rebar used to reinforce the mineral foam 22. These components 28 are positioned within aligned apertures prior to filling compartments 20 with mineral foam 22.

Referring to FIG. 7, instead of using rebar to reinforce mineral foam 22, it may be preferable to use a reinforcing mesh 30 positioned between mineral board sheets 18. If reinforcing mesh 30 is used, spacer elements 32 may be included to ensure there is a space between reinforcing mesh 30 from mineral board sheets 18. Examples of materials used for reinforcing mesh 30 that have given desirable results include basalt and fibreglass.

In constructing a structure, it may also be necessary to provide windows or doors in panel 10. Referring to FIG. 8, the frame 34 of a window is attached to frame members 12 by fasteners 19. Frame members 12 are spaced to accommodate frame 34, and shorter frame members 36 are provided above and below to ensure panel 10 is sufficiently strong. Referring to FIG. 9, when a corner is installed, inner and outer corner reinforcements 38 and 40, respectively, are provided to ensure panel 10 is sufficiently strong when filling with mineral foam 22. Accommodation must also be made to secure panel 10 to a floor, and to secure a roof or ceiling on top of panel 10. Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, anchors 42 are provided that pass through a plate 44. Plate 44 may have knockout apertures (not shown) similar to frame members 12 to allow, for example, plumbing pipe or electrical conduit, to pass through. Referring to FIG. 10, anchors 42 are partially embedded within mineral foam 22 to allow a roof or ceiling 46 to be secured to it. Referring to FIG. 11, anchors 42 are partially embedded in a floor 48, which may be concrete, and are also held by mineral foam 22 in compartments 20.

Operation:

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a mould resistant sandwich panel 10 is assembled by providing frame members 12 having opposed faces 14 and opposed sides 16. Referring to FIG. 7, if reinforcing mesh 30 is used, it is attached to opposed sides 16, and spacer elements 32 are also installed over reinforcing mesh 30 wherever there is a frame member 12. Mineral board sheets 18 are then secured to opposed sides 16 of frame members 12 over spacer elements 32 and reinforcing mesh 30 to create a plurality of interior compartments 20 as shown in FIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 6, aligned apertures 26 are then knocked out, and components 28 such as electrical conduit, plumbing pipe or rebar are extended through apertures 26. Referring again to FIG. 2, interior compartments 20 are then filled with mineral foam 22, with flow apertures allowing mineral foam 22 to flow between compartments 20.

Advantages:

Mineral foam, concrete foam and concrete all provide a higher resistance to fire and a more structurally sound structure during a disaster event, such as fire or flood, than traditional methods of constructing. However, while concrete will work, mineral foam and concrete foam are preferred because of the higher insulative value and lighter weight as compared to concrete.

Also, not using paper or other organic products to construct mould resistant sandwich panel 10 means that, in addition to mould resistance, damage from insects will also be reduced.

One of the disadvantages of using mineral foam, concrete foam or concrete is the lack of tensile strength inherent in these materials. Thus, by providing reinforcing mesh 30, and/or components 28 such as electrical conduit, plumbing pipe and rebar, the tensile strength of concrete is improved, and can be made adequately strong to be used in structures.

In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined in the Claims. 

1. A mould resistant sandwich panel, comprising: a plurality of frame members having opposed faces and opposed sides; mineral board sheets secured to the opposed sides of the frame members, thereby creating a plurality of interior compartments; and one of mineral foam, concrete foam or concrete filling each of the interior compartments.
 2. The mould resistant sandwich panel of claim 1, wherein apertures extend through the frame members between the opposed faces.
 3. The mould resistant sandwich panel of claim 2, wherein the apertures are knockout apertures.
 4. The mould resistant sandwich panel of claim 2, wherein the apertures are adapted to receive electrical conduit.
 5. The mould resistant sandwich panel of claim 2, wherein the apertures are adapted to receive plumbing pipe.
 6. The mould resistant sandwich panel of claim 2, wherein the apertures are adapted to allow the one of mineral foam, concrete foam or concrete to flow between interior compartments when filling the interior compartments with the one of mineral foam, concrete foam or concrete.
 7. The mould resistant sandwich panel of claim 2, wherein the apertures are adapted to receive rebar to reinforce the one of mineral foam, concrete foam or concrete.
 8. The mould resistant sandwich panel of claim 1, wherein a reinforcing mesh is positioned between the mineral board sheets to reinforce the one of mineral foam, concrete foam or concrete.
 9. The mould resistant sandwich panel of claim 8, wherein spacer elements are included to space the reinforcing mesh from the mineral board sheets.
 10. A mould resistant sandwich panel comprising: a plurality of frame members having opposed faces and opposed sides, the frame members comprising flow apertures and aligned apertures; mineral board sheets secured to the opposed sides of the frame members, thereby creating a plurality of interior compartments; one of mineral foam, concrete foam or concrete filling each of the interior compartments, the flow apertures adapted to allow the one of mineral foam, concrete foam or concrete to flow between the interior compartments during filling; a reinforcing mesh positioned between the mineral board sheets to reinforce the one of mineral foam, concrete foam or concrete; spacer elements to space the reinforcing mesh from the mineral board sheets; and at least one of electrical conduit and plumbing pipe extending through the aligned apertures.
 11. A method of fabricating a mould resistant sandwich panel, the method comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of frame members having opposed faces and opposed sides; securing mineral board sheets to the opposed sides of frame members to create a plurality of interior compartments; and filling the interior compartments with one of mineral foam, concrete foam or concrete.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein providing a plurality of frame members comprises providing a plurality of frame members having apertures that extend between the opposed faces.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein filling the interior compartments comprises the one of mineral foam, concrete foam or concrete flowing between compartments through the apertures.
 14. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of extending at least one of electrical conduit, plumbing pipe, and rebar through the apertures prior to filling the interior compartments with the one of mineral foam, concrete foam or concrete.
 15. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of positioning a reinforcing mesh within the interior compartments prior to filling the interior compartments with the one of mineral foam, concrete foam or concrete. 